We drink coffee daily.
We have a usual coffee roast that we prefer.
But have you ever thought about what’s so different about these roasts?
What if you try one and like it better?
Trying new things in life is scary.
We all want the comfort of our routine.
Drink a fresh coffee than my usual? No, not happening.
But maybe…
Just maybe, think for a second.
If you occasionally try different types of coffee roasts, or if you read about them.
What if…
The other roasts align more with your health and lifestyle?
The difference between coffee roasts is crucial. Not only how they change in color and flavor, but how they transform in properties on a base level.
The degree of how much coffee beans are roasted is one of the most important factors that determines the taste of the coffee.
Let’s dig into different coffee roasts and their properties.
Coffee Roasting Explained: Types, Levels & Flavors
Before roasting, coffee beans are green, soft, with a fresh smell and little to no taste.
The roasting process transforms these raw beans into the scented, flavorful, crunchy beans that we recognize as coffee.
Other factors also enter this complex equation that determines your coffee’s taste.
Two coffee varieties from different countries and origins, grown in different soils and environments, will taste quite different even if they are roasted to the same level.
The age of the coffee, the processing method, the grind, and the preparation method will also change the taste.
But the roast level provides a starting point or baseline, a rough guide to the taste you should expect.
The common way to define the coffee roast levels is by the color of the roasted beans, which range from light to dark (or extra dark).
When the coffee beans absorb heat in the roasting process, their color becomes darker as the oils appear on the surface of the beans at higher temperatures.
However, the coffee beans vary; color is not an accurate way of judging a roast.
But with the typical roasting temperature that yields a particular shade of brown, color is a suitable way to categorize roasting levels.
We can categorize the most common coffee roasts from light to dark.
Let’s find out the difference in coffee roasting:
LIGHT ROAST COFFEE BEANS
Light roasts are light brown.
Light roasts have no oil on the surface of the beans.
Light roasts have a brownish grain taste and noticeable acidity.
Light roasts keep the flavor of the beans to a greater extent than in darker roasted coffees.
Light roasts also absorb most of the caffeine from the coffee bean.
Reaching an internal temperature of 356°F to 401°F gives coffee beans a light roast.
At or around 300-350 degrees, the beans crack and expand in size.
This is called the first crack.
So basically, a light roast means a coffee that has not been roasted beyond the first crack.
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MEDIUM ROAST COFFEE BEANS
Medium roasted coffee is medium brown and has more body than light roasts.
Exactly, the lighter roasts have no oil on the bean surface.
Though medium roasts lack the grainy taste of the light roasts.
They exhibit a more balanced flavor, aroma, and acidity.
Caffeine levels decrease, but medium-roasted coffee has more caffeine than in darker roasts.
Medium roasts have an internal temperature between 410°F and 428°F between the end of the first crack and just before the beginning of the second crack.
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MEDIUM-DARK ROAST COFFEE BEANS
Medium-dark roasts have a richer, darker brown color.
Some oil shows on the surface of the beans.
A medium-dark roast has a heavy body in comparison with the lighter or medium roasts, but lighter than dark roasts.
The beans get roasted to the beginning or middle of the second crack, about 437-450°F.
The flavor and aroma of the roasting process become prominent, but the taste of the coffee may be spicy.
DARK ROAST COFFEE BEANS
Dark roast coffee beans are dark brown, like chocolate, and sometimes almost black.
They have a sheen of oil on the surface, which is usually evident in the cup when we brew the dark roast coffee.
The dark roast coffee has a bitter, smoky, or even burnt taste, and the amount of caffeine is low.
To reach a dark roast, roasters roast coffee beans to an internal temperature of 465-480°F, at the end of the second crack or beyond.
Roasters often roast them to a temperature exceeding 490°F.
The body of the beans is thin, and the taste is determined by the flavors of tar and charcoal.
Apart from this short guide to the common coffee roasts from light to dark, to summarize the differences, in addition to the color range, here are some tips:
- As coffee roasts get darker, they lose the original flavors of the beans and take on the flavor from the roasting process.
- The body of the coffee gets heavier until the second crack, but on the second crack, it again thins.
- Lighter roasts have more acidity than medium, dark-medium, and dark roasts.
- Lighter roasted beans are dry, while darker roasts develop a sheen of oil on the bean surface.
- The caffeine levels decrease when the roast gets darker.
Finally, it is all about the taste, the flavor, the aroma.
It’s up to you if you prefer a lighter roast in the morning (which has more caffeine to get moving).
Or a darker one later in the day (less caffeine).
Roast level preferences are subjective because the roast level you like may depend on where you live.
In the United States, folks on the West Coast traditionally prefer darker roasts than those on the East Coast.
Europeans also favor dark roasts, lending their names to the so-called French, Italian, and Spanish roasts that dominate the darker end of the roasting spectrum.
Because of inconsistencies in roast levels across different roasteries, the coffee industry has not standardized roast names and descriptions.
Purity Coffee, for example, categorizes its offerings into light, medium, and dark roasts.
Focusing on flavor depth and complexity rather than caffeine strength. Commonwealth Joe coffee roasters categorize its coffees within three roast profiles:
Light Roast – PROTECT a light- medium roast, it has high antioxidants (CGA). It is also bird-friendly.
Medium Roast – FLOW: Original Medium Roast, which tastes smooth & balanced.
Dark Roast – EASE is best for lower acid and gut comfort. It is rich, complex, and full-bodied in flavor.
There are so many great coffee brands selling ethically sourced, organic coffee that is beneficial for health and impresses the tongue with rich flavor, and the olfactory nerve with the delicious aroma.
So whichever roast suits you, you have the option to buy it.
Although an educated purchase is always the best purchase.
I prefer dark roast because I’m a dark chocolate girl.
Dark roast coffee beans taste chocolaty to me.
Which roast is your favorite, and are you ready to try other roasts?
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